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It had been a long day, but a good one. Contract completed, money collected, valuable learning experience provided. Jason glanced over his shoulder as Damian recounted his fencing tournament for Rose’s sake, complete with small jabbing motions of his hand. It was good to see Damian being more exuberant and expressing himself through movement. Their time free from the League was really showing, and it never failed to make Jason smile.
“Talia has been bemoaning his real swordsmanship,” Mara interjected, a small smirk tugging at her lips. Mara, too, had come so far. Back when they had first escaped, he had hoped she would eventually feel secure enough to tease and joke around, but it had been faint and flickering. Jason turned around to walk backward, one hand on the strap of the duffle bag that held his equipment. Mara’s smirk widened and she glanced at Damian with an almost pitying expression. “He is always hasty now.” Jason grinned at that, and at Damian’s protests that were more annoyed and less outraged. He didn’t even make a move to retaliate beyond a shove to her shoulder before continuing on with his story. God, Jason was so proud of them.
“It was clear that I was the superior fencer,” Damian said. “Rodriguez is fast but his distance management is subpar. It was no great show, defeating him.”
Jason snorted, fumbling in his pocket for the key to their adjoining hotel rooms. “Rodriguez was the best in their age group before Damian came along,” he informed Rose.
“Damn, little dude, that’s pretty impressive,” she said, ruffling his hair. Damian tried to swat her hand away but that just prompted her to use both hands, destroying his neatly gelled style completely.
Jason laughed, slipping the key into the door without taking his eyes off Damian, who lunged at Rose with a war cry. Mara met his eyes and rolled her own. Jason leaned his back against the door to open it. “Alright, tiger, chill out. Your hair can be fixed,” he said, turning to walk inside. He froze halfway through the doorway, blood draining from his face.
“Jason?” Mara asked from behind him. She stumbled back when he retreated into the hallway, pulling the door shut.
“Run,” Jason hissed.
They didn’t waste time asking why, immediately turning and booking it down the hallway. They didn’t make it more than three steps before an arm was snaking around Jason’s waist, lifting him clean off his feet. He cursed, struggling to break the hold. “Don’t move,” a deep voice said, freezing the other three on the spot.
Jason groaned, head hanging in defeat.
Mara abruptly lost the deer-in-the-headlights look as she registered the speaker. “This is why you said to run?” she demanded, walking towards them.
“Deathstroke is very much a threat,” Jason protested.
Rose snorted, slipping a knife back into its sheath. “Not to you. Why are you here, Dad?”
“We have a contract to follow up on,” Slade said casually, as if he wasn’t still holding Jason far enough off the ground that only his toes were brushing the floor. “I trust you’re done here?”
“Yeah, we finished today.”
“I can walk,” Jason protested as Slade started dragging him back to the hotel room.
Slade tilted his head to the side, like he was thinking about it, and continued dragging him.
“God I hate you,” Jason grumbled.
“Feeling’s mutual, kid,” Slade said, with the particular lilt to his voice that meant he was laughing at Jason.
“I do not understand your reaction, Akhi,” Damian said. “Unless you have done something to upset Wilson recently.”
“It’s not him I’m worried about,” Jason hissed.
Slade reached the door and Jason craned his neck around to look at him. “I will give you my entire cut from this contract if you just let me go right now.”
Slade raised an eyebrow and Jason backtracked. “Correction, I will give you the kids’ and my cut.”
Slade looked amused as Damian and Mara protested. “No deal kid.” Slade opened the door and gave him a hard shove. Jason staggered inside, closely followed by the others. Jason could hear Damian and Mara’s steps falter.
“Ah,” Damian said weakly. “That is why.”
“Oh yes,” Slade said, as if just remembering. “I’m also here with them.”
Bruce and Talia were sporting remarkably similar glares and Jason ducked his head, rubbing the back of his neck. He hadn’t been in a room with this much parental disapproval since...ever, actually.
“Jason,” Talia said smoothly. “I look forward to hearing your explanation for your actions. I am sure it will be riveting.”
“Ooh.” Rose had the decency to only snicker a little as she patted him on the shoulder. “Sorry buddy but Dad and I have a contract to get to. So I will just see you later.”
“If I’m alive,” Jason muttered.
“Yeah,” Rose agreed, eyeing Bruce and Talia. “Good luck.”
Jason couldn’t begrudge her that. He wouldn’t stay around either. Slade however…. “You’re a traitor to the cause, Wilson,” Jason called without taking his eyes off Bruce and Talia.
Slade snorted. “As if I’d ever side with you over your mother, I’m not insane.” The door clicked shut and Jason was officially left alone to his fate. Well, not quite alone. Damian and Mara were there. Maybe he could throw them under the bus, use their cute points.
“We’re waiting,” Bruce said, and not for the first time Jason cursed them for the whole coparenting thing they had come up with. This would literally not be a problem if they still loathed each other.
“It...was...a good learning experience?” Jason tried, plastering a hopeful smile on his face. Neither of their expressions changed. “Uh.” He started on this hole, might as well go for it. “This is literally my job, so...I dunno why you’re mad. I was...teaching.”
“You don’t know why we are angry,” Talia said flatly, one eyebrow arching high.
Bruce took over the conversation without hesitation, voice falling into the stern timber that took Jason straight back to the times he had been benched as Robin. “Perhaps it is because you disappeared for three days without a word to anyone. Perhaps it is because you allowed both of us to believe you were with the other. Perhaps it is because you brought your younger siblings with you on a dangerous mission with no backup- and no I do not count Rose.” Jason closed his mouth, swallowing. Bruce was using that ‘I’m not mad I’m just disappointed’ face that made him want to eviscerate himself with a spoon. “Does any of that sound like a reason we might be upset?”
Jason coughed. “Uh. Well. Looking back with the benefit of hindsight, I guess being...annoyed...might be understandable. But, uh, have you considered that...uh,” he had no idea where he was going with this. “That…they are perfectly safe and fine and I’m an adult and if you didn’t even notice we were gone for three days maybe you should work on that ‘World’s Greatest Detective’ thing?” He cringed. That was the worst place he could have gone with that sentence what was wrong with him?!
Bruce’s frown managed to get even deeper, but Talia placed a hand on his arm. “No, he is right, Bruce.” Jason eyed her warily. No way was she actually agreeing with him. Talia met his eyes. “How foolish of us. You’re an adult, of course you’re going to want to go out and take your own jobs, run around with your friends.” Jason sensed a trap closing around him. “And of course you can’t be expected to leave Damian and Mara behind when you are their sole chaperone. We’ll just have to increase the amount of supervision around Damian and Mara, to make sure they’re taken care of if your urge to travel takes hold again.”
Jason gaped at her. “Wha-”
Talia turned to Bruce. “I hear Richard is always looking for chances to spend time with Damian and Mara, perhaps he would be willing to provide a second set of eyes.”
“Hold on a sec-”
Bruce’s eyes glinted a little. “Yes, I think he would be willing. I, too, find myself with a good amount of free time these days.” That was bullshit if Jason had ever heard it, but he had no doubt that Bruce would make the time. He shouldn’t have made that comment about his detective skills.
“Wonderful, so we are agreed.” Talia turned back to Jason, who was staring at them helplessly, and smiled. “Thank you for drawing this problem to our attention, Jason.” She patted his cheek. “Now you will have all the freedom you desire to explore your independence.”
Jason opened and closed his mouth a few times before weakly saying, “Thanks.”
Bruce clapped his hands together. “Alright, the plane is parked on the roof. Are you guys all packed?”
“We don’t unpack when we’re here for three days,” Jason muttered, brushing past him to grab his backpack of clothes. Bruce was apparently so pleased with himself and Talia that he didn’t even mind.
“Great, let’s get going. It’s a long flight back to Gotham.”
“Gotham?” Jason asked suspiciously, hiking his backpack over his shoulder. “The weekend’s over.”
“Since your father missed out on his normal days, we decided you could spend the next week at the manor,” Talia said. She ignored Jason’s pleading look and looked over the room one last time. “You have everything?”
Damian and Mara, who had been remaining silent while sending increasingly-heated glares at Jason, quietly muttered confirmation. Jason was too deep in a crisis to respond. He jumped when Bruce slung an arm around his shoulders. “Buck up, Jaylad,” he said, pulling Jason tight against his side as they headed to the stairs and conveniently tanking any chance Jason had of jumping out the nearest window. “We’re going to have a great time this week.”
“Yeah,” Jason said, regretting every single action that had led him to this point, up to and including being born in the first place. “Great.”